ABC Family Makes Schedule Changes, 8 Simple Rules Now Weekdays; John Ritter Book Coming in September Written by Amy Yasbeck

Friday, February 05, 2010

ABC Family Makes Schedule Changes, 8 Simple Rules Now Weekdays; John Ritter Book Coming in September Written by Amy Yasbeck

ABC Family has made some last minute schedule changes to start this coming Monday (Feb. 8, 2010). The changes happening to the weekday schedule will have one show return to weekdays, one show leaving weekdays, one show leaving totally for now, and one show expanding. Wow! First up, we get another hour of Full House weekdays in the 12pm hour, replacing What I Like About You. But not to worry fans of What I Like About You, ABC Family likes you fans and will move the show to the better weekday 4pm hour replacing Grounded for Life, which is now totally off the schedule for now. Then in the 6pm hour, 8 Simple Rules returns to weekdays replacing an hour of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which will remain airing late nights on some weekends. That's not a big deal since the series already airs on TBS and Disney XD anyway. Good news for 8 Simple Rules, as that series will get to air weekdays again instead of weekend mornings. The final weekday change is an expansion. Whose Line Is It Anyway will now air five days a week in the 12 midnight hour (rather than just once a week) replacing various original series encores and other series.
There will be changes to weekends, too. Starting Saturday, Feb. 13 on Saturdays from 7am-10am will now be That '70s Show replacing two hours of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and an hour of Full House. 8 Simple Rules will remain in the 10am hour on Saturday, Feb. 13, but starting Saturday, Feb. 20, That '70s Show takes this hour as well, expanding to 7am-11am on most Saturdays depending on movie start times. Movies take over the mornings now on most Sundays, but there could be a That '70s Show sighting on Sundays in the 7am hour leading into movies. That '70s Show airs weeknights in the 7pm hour, but most of the time it is preempted due to originals, movies, or various programming, so the weekend morning airings are better. It will continue to air on TeenNick every night as well.

We mentioned a while back that Amy Yasbeck (actress and the widow of John Ritter) is working on a book on the life of her late husband, but now we have more details! With Love and Laughter, John Ritter will be published by Simon & Schuster in September, on the seventh anniversary of Ritter's death from an undiagnosed aortic dissection. I still cannot believe it will be 7 years already next September. That was a horrific day.
"It's about John's take on everything, and what it was like to live with him," says Yasbeck, who met Ritter shooting Problem Child in 1989. "People have seen him as the celebrity, but this will be about the friend, the dad and the husband."
Shortly after his death in 2003, Yasbeck started the John Ritter Foundation to promote awareness about aortic aneurysm and dissection (Johnritterfoundation.org).
Amy continues to raise awareness of aortic dissection, as she recently spoke to ABC13 (KTRK) in Houston on this issue. She is doing a great job and is working with Dr. Milewicz and her UT-Houston team to find the genes that lead to Ritter's death. In these freezers are samples from 10,000 people which have helped them isolate four of the genes that are related to aortic aneurysm. Amy is certainly making a difference in the world by doing this. She will save many lives and needs to be honored for her fine work. The name John Ritter continues to spread a positive message, just as it did when he was alive.
View the video of ABC13's story. Everyone should take a look at this.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, November 22

Happy's Place - "Happy's House" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Bobbie agrees to take Isabella to Happy's house in search of a connection to their late father, leading Bobbie to worry about what they may find; Gabby hopes to strike it rich by searching through Happy's penny collection looking for a rarity.

Lopez vs Lopez - "Lopez vs Orlando" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When Rosie's spoiled nephew Orlando visits, Mayan sets out to expose Rosie's cultural gender bias; George wants to teach Chance the value of hard work, but, instead, helps him create a toxic work environment.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Whacking the Mole" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After Abishola has a romantic dream about Bob, she tries to suppress her feelings for him and pays the price.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Ralph Lauren and Fish" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob and Abishola finally go on a proper date, which is interrupted by Dottie's medical emergency.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Tough Like a Laundromat Washing Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Bob hires Abishola to take care of Dottie in his home while she recovers; Dottie has a hard time dealing with her limitations and takes it out on Abishola.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Useless Potheads" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
With Abishola only helping part-time, Bob, Douglas and Christina struggle to take care of Dottie.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Wiz-Taken Identity" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When Billie struggles with a spell, Roman says he could do it if he was a wizard: to prove him wrong, Billie uses a Power Glass to transfer her powers to Roman.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - " Ain't Gnome Party Like a Wizard Party" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Justin embraces mortality to live with his family; his new challenge arises when Alex introduces Billie, a wizard-in-training, seeking Justin's mentorship.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 18)

Friday, November 22

Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Watch Kerry on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Jimmy O. Yang (Interior Chinatown/Space Force/Silicon Valley) - Jimmy is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Ariana Grande (Sam & Cat/Victorious) - Ariana appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Andy Richter (Andy Barker, P.I./Quintuplets/Andy Richter Controls the Universe), Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple/Sean Saves the World/Reno 911!) and Aparna Nancherla (Lopez vs Lopez/Search Party/Corporate) - Andy, Thomas and Aparna are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Keke Palmer (Scream Queens/True Jackson, VP) - Keke talks about her new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Drew is joined by the hilarious Andrew to celebrate all things Thanksgiving on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Rosie Perez (Human Resources/Search Party) - Rosie tells Sherri about her new Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Candace Cameron Bure (Fuller House/Full House) - Candace will be on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:15am.